Subject description
The epidemiological approach to the study of disease and illness will be taught. The level of evidence of a number of study types (e.g. cross-sectional, case control, cohort, intervention studies) will be presented in the context of public health problems. Causality and alternate reasons for observed associations (eg. chance, bias, … For more content click the Read More button below.
Equivalence
SHS 251 - Introduction to Epidemiology
Delivery
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Teaching staff
Subject coordinators
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this subject, students will be able to:
1.
Describe the WHO definition of epidemiology and identify the purpose of epidemiology, strengths and weaknesses of what can be achieved using epidemiological methods to assess population health status, determinants of health and healthy system utilisation.
2.
Identify the difference between observational descriptive and observational analytical epidemiological studies. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of these studies and identify the research questions they can feasibly answer.
3.
Define a study factor and an outcome factor for a given study type, identify, calculate and interpret the most appropriate measure of association.
4.
Identify the two main types of biases in epidemiology, selection and measurement bias and how to reduce their effects in the study design phase.
5.
Describe the structure of a RCT and the characteristics that are different from observational studies. Identify the different types of research questions that can feasibly be answered by a RCT compared to an observational epidemiological study.
6.
Define and differentiate the concepts of bias, confounding and effect modification. Describe techniques that can identify their effects.
7.
Describe the characteristics of a health condition that render it viable to administer a screening test. Identify the purpose of a screening test in modifying the health population. Identify the concepts of sensitivity and specificity and the trade-off between these 2 parameters. Assess the validity and reliability of screening tests.
8.
Describe the hierarchy pyramid of evidence for epidemiological studies. Describe the role of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in synthesising evidence from published studies to evaluate the 'truth' about a particular research question.
9.
Identify the difference between the population and biomedical perspective and describe the different features of a study to answer questions from these 2 different approaches.
Assessment details
Beginning of Class Quiz
Post class quiz
Formative Assessment 1 - Quiz
Formative Assessment 2 - Quiz
Reflections - Weekly Blog
Final Exam - 20 MCQs
Textbook information
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